Elastic-fluid turbine.



G.- FORNBR.

ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE. APPLICATION FILED 1110.36, 1911.

1,061,737,. Iatnted. M21 13, 1913,

' InventQr; OFQ Farmer;

UNITED STAQI ZiQETEfiT OFFICE ,j

GEORG FORNER, or BERLIN, GERMANY, assreuon 'ro GENERAL ELECTRIC comm, A.CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

ELASTIC-FLUID TURBINE.

To alt whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gama: Fonxsn. a subject, of the King of Prussia,residing at Berlin, Germany, have invented .certain new and, usefulImprovements in Elastic- Fluid Turbines, of which the followingis aspecification.

The present invention relates to elasticfiuid turbines, and moreespecially to those of the reaction type, and has for its objecttoprovide a simple and effective means for receiving and conveying thesteam that leaks through the packings or st-ulling boxes, back into't-heturbine or some part thereof. 'hen the steam is allowed to escape to theatmosphere either directly-1 or indirectly through long pipes as iscustomary with reaction tnrbines. such steam is lost as is also thelatent heat thereof. The escaping steam also-causes condensation ofsteam on the turbine casing.

In the accompanying drawing which is illustrative of my invention,Figure 1- is a view in side elevation of a turbine showing a. live steamejector means for reducing leakage; Fig. 2 is a similar view of' amodified form of the invention showing a stage pressure ejector meansfor reducing leakage, and Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing a typicalform,of ejector.

, 3 indicates a multi-stagc-reaction turbine of any suitable type andconstruction. My invention is, however, applicable to turbines operatingon the impulse plan, as the Curtis for example.

4 indicates the shaft that carries the rotor of the turbine. Atthe pointwhere it projects. through the casing 5 st-utling or packing boxes 6 and7 are provided. Connected to t he chambered parts of the boxes are pipes8 and 9. These pipes are connected to the casing of an ejector 10 of anysuitable type. The live steamfor operating the ejector is received fromthe main 11 admitting steam to the turbine, and is subjectto the controlof throttle valve 12. The exhaust. steam from the ejector, together withthe steam and water collected from the packing boxes, is discharged intothe exhaust conduit- 13 of the turbine. This may be the final exhaust ofthe turbine or only the exhaust of one part, in which case the steamfrom the. ejector is made to do useful work in, those parts of theturbine operating at lower pres- 5 sure. It. is evident that thesnction-ctl'cct Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedDecember 20, 1911. Serial No. 666319.

the pac (mg boxes. t'hevalve 15.. either by hand or automatically, thesuction effect of the ejector may be PatentedMay13,1913.

of the elicctor will draw leakage steam from I By'properly adjusting thehigh pressure end of the turbine, said steam being conveyed by the pipe15 under control of a hand or automatic valve 16, The exhaust from theejector passes into the exhaust conduit 13 or into some low pressurestage from which point it performs useful work in the turbine. Leakagefrom the packings is conveyed by the pipes 8 and 9 to the "ejector, saidpipes being united in the coupling 17. In this case as before thesuction effect of the ejector is so regulated, as by adjusting the valve16, that the outflow of steam from the stufiing box is avoided as muchas possible. This arrangement. has the advantage that no live steam isrequired for the operation of the ejector, any steam that enters thepipe 15 has of necessity leaked pastsome portion of the packing.

lt .will be seen that the ejector constitutes a pump for drawing otlleakage steam from the pat-kings. and that the amount so drawn oli' isjust snllicient to prevent steam from escaping from the packing on theone hand and the entrance of air on the other. The control is ideal inits simplicity, and as the steam flow is small the cost is small. Sincethe control is so complete it becomes unnecessary to take down orinspect the packings as often as formerly.

In accordance with the provisiousof the patent statutes. I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now-consider to represent the best einbmlimentthereof; but; I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown isonly illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by othermeans.

'\\'hat I claim as new and desire to secure. by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is,

l. .-\n elastic-fluid turbine having a shaft and a packing therefor, anejector that is I connected to a charnber in the packing, a

commonto and receives the leakage steamfrom the packmgs, means forsupplying steam to the ejector to operate it, a regulatin meanstherefor, and a pipe. that conveys fluld from the ejector to a point oflow pressure in the turbine.

3. elastic-fluid turbine having a shaft and a packing therefor, anejector, a pipe 15 that conveys leakage from the packing to rom theejector, a pipetliat conveys fluid sa 1d packing. but of higher pressureto the ejector for'actuating it, and a valve for controlling the passageof fluid through the last named pipe. I

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day ofDecember, 1911.

I GEQRG FORNER.

Witnesses:

Enron: Unnnu'm, LUDWIGCUBELIO.

